The Weekend

Pin It now! We had both sides of the family over this weekend for a BBQ.  Michael was a pack mule again and hauled a IKEA bag home with meats and veggies from the Meat Market in Hell's Kitchen.  We had pretty much the same menu as we did with the birthday BBQ: grilled skirt steak with homemade chimichurri sauce, sweet and spicy sausage, grilled veggies marinated in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  My Mom added a grilled shrimp dish and I made tiramisu and cupcakes.  Good thing we made a lot of food because besides our family members, we had a few neighbors pop over. 

 (Yellowest squash I've ever seen)

(Of course there were cupcakes)

We ended the night with a ceremonious opening of the Johnnie Walker Blue that I bought for hubby for our wedding.  For the last two years, we never had a  chance to open it, so we figured we should do so with the family around.  I'm not a big Scotch drinker, and even though it went down really strong, it was pretty smooth and delicious.  Hubby and my sister's boyfriend were in heaven.  Lovin' summer BBQ's.

Here are some recipes from the weekend:

Michael's Chimchurri Sauce:
1 bunch of cilantro
1 bunch of flat leaf parsley
4 cloves of garlic
olive oil
Sriracha hot sauce 

- Pulse the cilantro, parley and garlic in a food processor (hubs uses the mini food processor which works perfectly).  Add olive oil until sauce is a thick but liquidy consistency.  Add sriracha to taste.

Tiramisu (adapted from Debi Mazar & Gabriele 's Cooking Channel show, Extra Virgin)

3 cups brewed coffee, cooled

2 (8-ounce) containers mascarpone

5 eggs, separated

14 ounces savoiardi cookies (firm ladyfingers)

4 ounces sugar, plus 2 tablespoons or more, for the coffee

2 shots rum or Italian Marsala, optional

Pinch salt

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup shaved dark chocolate

1. Prepare the coffee (I used a French press) and pour it in a bowl and allow to cool off.
2. Mix the egg yolks with 2 ounces sugar, and mix until you obtain a creamy light mixture.
3. Work the mascarpone in a bowl using a wooden spoon, making sure you eliminate any lumps (I used mascarpone from Whole Foods and it was creamy so I skipped this part), then add the mascarpone to the sugar-egg mixture and continue to mix well.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the egg whites, pinch of salt, and the remaining 2 ounces sugar, until they reach a somewhat firm, but fluffy consistency, then add them to the mascarpone mixture.
5. Dip the entire savoiardi cookie (firm ladyfingers) in the coffee, and one by one lay them flat into a 13 x 9 pyrex tray.  Only dip the entire cookie for 1 second, making sure you do not soak the cookies, as you want to make sure they maintain their firmness.  
6. Once the first layer of cookies has been laid out, spread a layer of the mascarpone cream on top, and dust with 1 tablespoon cocoa powder.
7. Prepare another layer of coffee-dipped cookies, cream and cocoa powder. Garnish the top of the cake with the shaved dark chocolate.
8. Cover the tray with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 3 hours so the flavors can marry and the tiramisu can settle.